Clandestine Reaction
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: Tony and Abby aren't impressed with the supper companion Gibbs has chosen.  This is part of my Here and Now series.
1. Introductions

Introductions

Abby was leaning against the kitchen table, mop in hand, when Tony approached the kitchen. "Hey," she fussed, throwing out her hand to work as a stop sign. "Don't you dare walk across the part that's still wet!"

Tony grinned and spun himself to the counter by the sink, then grabbed an apple from the top of the fruit bowl. "Well, that's the risk you have to endure when you put off your responsibilities. If you'd simply done what you were supposed to do yesterday, you wouldn't be standing here Friday afternoon mopping the kitchen, now would you? You could be free, and in the clear with the Boss." With that, he rubbed the apple against his shirt sleeve, took a huge bite, and smirked.

Abby rolled her eyes at the observation. "Uh huh, well I would have been through yesterday if you hadn't gotten me in trouble. There was absolutely no reason to tell Gibbs that I'd driven through the Stansilaus neighbourhood to get to the mall, because you know in your heart it's the closest…"

"Maybe so, but he's told you he'd better not catch you doing that, cutting through there, since the crime rate in that neighborhood is about the worst in D.C. Besides that, I agree with him on that score. There are other ways to go to the mall."

Abby couldn't help but give him a little smile. Tony had gotten her in trouble, that was true, but to be fair, Tony had confronted her first, angrily, about the route. When she refused to promise him she would avoid the area, he shared his concern with his boss. Gibbs, of course, hit the roof.

"I got it, Tony, believe me, I got it. I had all evening yesterday in my room to think about why it wasn't wise to drive through that area. That puts me back at my original statement, though, Tattletale. I could have been knocking out my roster of chores yesterday instead of doing penance in my room."

"Those are the breaks, so you need to learn how to act in a mature manner and….."

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted and they looked at each other in surprise. The doorbell's ding wasn't a usual sound effect in the house of Gibbs.

"It's definitely someone we don't know, else they would know the door's open," Abby contributed, grabbing the mop and turning to the pantry to put up the cleaning supplies.

Tony started towards the foyer but turned around to instruct, "Better get back to your unfinished chores, Baby Girl, else you won't get to go out tonight either." With that, he laughed maniacally.

Abby retorted, "Tend to your own business, Tattletale."

That brought forth a laugh, and Tony was still smiling when he threw open the front door. Standing on the stoop was an attractive redhead, tall and elegant looking, with an annoyed look on her face. It took Tony a couple of seconds to respond.

"Hey, may I help you?" Tony still clutched his apple, and his eyebrows rose quizzically.

The woman looked at him dismissively and answered in a tone of voice that reminded him of a teacher who didn't plan to face any argument, "Jethro Gibbs- I am supposed to meet him here this afternoon."

"Boss?" Tony questioned, a bit confused.

"I have no idea about a boss." She looked annoyed, and moved her pocketbook from one shoulder to the other.

"No, no," Tony stammered, stepping back from the door and motioning her to come inside the house. "I mean, this is where he lives, my boss, I mean, and he's Jethro Gibbs."

"Now that we've established that, I would appreciate a place to sit and wait until he returns."

Abby had come out of the kitchen, puzzled at the exchange she'd heard. "Hey, does Gibbs know you're coming, Ma'am?"

"Do you think I'd be here if he didn't?" was the sardonic reply.

Tony and Abby exchanged glances. That was an unbelievably rude answer to a simple question.

"Here," he said, pointing to the living room. "That's the living room. Why don't you wait in there?"

"What time did Gibbs tell you to meet him?" Abby ventured, as they followed her.

"Obviously, about this time…" the woman's voice trailed and she took her seat with an almost regal air.

Abby narrowed her eyes. That was twice the woman had insulted them.

Glancing up, the stranger shook her head as though she couldn't believe she had to explain herself. "Jethro and I have a supper date, and I suppose I am a few minutes early."

Tony exchanged a shocked glance with Abby and said, "Well, please excuse us, then…" before grabbing Abby's arm and pulling her to the kitchen.

"Who is that witch?" Abby hissed, once safely away and out of her earshot.

"I have never seen her. I wonder where Boss found her. She's attractive, but she definitely has a rude air of entitlement. She's beastly!" Tony threw up his hands and pointed down towards the floor with a grimace.

Abby moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of tea. "Hey, let's go see what we can find out. Gibbs hasn't mentioned this one to us and probably wouldn't have if we hadn't seen her today. You know how secretive he is, or will be, so it's up to us to get the delicious details of their partnership." She giggled.

Tony winked, "Investigaton discovery, little Goth partner-"

The two returned to the living room with a tray of oatmeal cookies and glasses of iced tea. Tony immediately secured the chair opposite the sofa so that he could make visual contact with their visitor, while Abby sat down beside her on the sofa.

The woman was noticeably uncomfortable with Abby's close proximity, but Abby didn't budge. Leaning over, she passed her a glass of iced tea and asked brightly, "How about some iced tea, and some cookies? I don't believe we made proper introductions. I'm Abby, and this is Tony. We live here." She pointed in Tony's direction and sat back, waiting expectantly for an answer.

The woman took a moment to look them both up and down. "Linda Parham," she spoke carefully, then placed her untouched glass back onto the tray. "I don't care for iced tea. It baffles me why anyone with any amount of discrimination or good taste would drink it in the first place."

Abby sucked in her breath and Tony quickly interrupted, "Well, Abby grew up in New Orleans, and I'm sure you know that iced tea is very popular in the South."

Linda frowned and raised her hand dismissively, "Why would anyone care about what they drink in the South?"

A flash of anger crossed Abby's face. Before Abby could make a blistering comeback and ruin their chance of gathering intel, Tony intervened and changed the subject. "Where did you and the Boss meet?"

The visitor regarded him coldly. "Just who are you again? You said Tony, right? What concern is it of yours where I met Jethro?"

This time it was Abby who jumped in when she saw the anger flick across Tony's face. "We both live here, too, and we are just interested. Excuse me a minute, though- I need something in the kitchen. Tony, come help me, uh, you know to finish the mopping." Abby raised her eyebrows, and Tony got up and followed her back to the kitchen.

This time both of them spoke in angry undertones, furious about the woman's haughty demeanor and the bad manners targeted at them.

"Insulting Southerners…" Abby muttered, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the woman's deliberate words.

"Hey, Baby Girl, let's look at the big picture here. The Boss is obviously serious enough about her to invite her here. That means something important. Nevertheless, she is definitely not someone we want him to pursue…"

Abby interrupted, "No, no, absolutely not! That woman is not going to get her claws into our Gibbs. Attractive she may be, but she's a maneater. We have to do something to fix this ourselves. Think, Tony, I do believe it's time for a little team effort. You know how Gibbs is always fussing at us when we get into arguments, telling us we should work together instead of battling each other?"

Tony nodded eagerly, "Actually, I think he meant like arguing over who chooses the tv program or cleans up the kitchen. But regarding that she devil, absolutely- There is no way we need that wicked stepmother in our environment. She's toxic."

The two put their heads together and whispered back and forth a couple of minutes. Tony spoke softly. "Do you remember _Catch Me If You Can_ with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks? Leo spent the entire movie outwitting and outmaneuvering Tom. They both gave stellar performances, by the way." Abby nodded eagerly and the plan began to take shape. When they were satisfied with their clandestine solution, they both wandered back towards the living room.

"Boss should be home soon," Tony flashed a brilliant smile and exited, heading straight up the stairs towards the bedroom.

"Do make yourself at home," Abby encouraged, patting one of the sofa pillows. "I have to go get ready myself for an evening out." With that, she, too, jogged upstairs.

The two met without speaking on the landing. Tony winked at Abby, then they both parted to go into their own bedrooms.


	2. Abby

Abby

Fifteen minutes later Abby spotted Gibbs pulling in the drive and raced across the hall to alert Tony. He had been buttoning up his new shirt, but jumped up and made his way down the stairs two at a time, buttoning the last of the buttons as he jogged. He glanced in the living room to make sure that Linda had stayed put, then slipped into the kitchen.

Jethro came in and dropped the mail on the foyer table before heading towards the kitchen and coffee pot. Tony popped his head out and pointed, "Hey, Boss, there's a lady here who says you are taking her to supper tonight."

Gibb nodded but didn't comment. Reversing his steps, he made his way to the living room, and Tony heard the two voices in conversation, hers a bit higher pitched.

Quietly making his way to the kitchen doorway, he watched Abby, who was standing poised at the top of the stairs. They smiled conspiratorially at each other and Abby winked. Tony waited for the voice level to change, and then watched Gibbs from behind. Counting down with three outstretched fingers, then two, then one, he motioned Abby.

Abby descended the steps noisily, making sure that everyone knew she was in the vicinity. Gibbs looked up from where he was sitting beside Linda, his body facing her, when he heard Abby. He frowned when he saw her outfit.

"Oh, hey there, Gibbs. I didn't know you were home." She leaned down and perched on the arm of the chair facing them, and smiled innocently.

Tony called from the kitchen, "Hey Abbs, what time are you going out?"

Abby pretended to think for a second. "I'm good now. I should be ready in just one more sec. I need to find my gold rhinestone collar."

Gibbs shook his head and ordered quietly, "Go change."

Linda looked from Gibbs to Abby, then started to speak. She was interrupted.

"Change?" Abby questioned irritably. "I just did. This is my outfit for tonight."

Gibbs put his hand firmly on her back and repeated sternly, "Go change."

"Gibbs," she began to argue, then turned to the visitor with a whine. "Look, hey, do you see anything wrong with what I am wearing? This is ridiculous."

Their guest curled her lip, but Abby ignored her reaction. Instead, she jumped up and twirled. Tony clamped his hand to his mouth to keep from laughing- she had outdone herself with the outfit on display. The plaid skirt barely covered her derriere, and the blouse she had was so closely cropped that it barely covered her bra.

"I don't…" Linda began, annoyed that Jethro's attention had transferred from her to Abby. Before she could finish, Gibbs interrupted firmly.

"Now, I am not going to tell you again. Get upstairs and change right now, young lady."

Abby puffed out her lip and sighed dramatically, then flounced to the steps. Tony stood rooted in his place in the kitchen doorway, watching as Abby disappeared for round two.

The intruder raised her eyebrows at Gibbs. "That is exactly why I never had children."

The conversation resumed. Tony strained to hear, and discovered that the two were deciding on their after dinner activities.

Abby popped back down within five minutes and Tony had to bite his lip to keep from exploding with laughter. This time she had chosen a black dress that came to mid thigh and actually had a semblance of sleeves. However, the dress was covered with row upon row of cut outs, so that she had more skin exposed than with the first of her selections.

Jethro's head snapped up when he saw Abby and he shook his head forcefully. He was obviously annoyed, and trying to keep his temper in check.

Abby immediately frowned, but before she could speak, Linda decided to comment.

"Where is it that you are planning to go?"

Abby responded to the antagonist by mimicking the same sarcastic tone Linda had used on Tony and her earlier, "Well, that's really none of your business, now isn't it?"

Linda actually sucked in a breath in surprise at the retort. Clearly, she was used to having people intimidated and afraid of her. She narrowed her eyes, taking a better look at her opponent.

Gibbs was furious with the response and his voice rose sharply. "Abby, you do not speak to a guest in this house that way!"

Linda tried to cover up her delight at the victory. Jethro had taken up for her, not the girl.

Abby stood contemplating the reprimand for a moment, then turned to the woman. "Ok, sorry, then-" With that lukewarm rejoinder she started leisurely out of the living room.

Gibbs called her back, "Get right back here, Abbs." When she reappeared, he held up his hands and pointed towards the stairs and her bedroom. "You are not leaving this house in that dress."

Abby argued heatedly, "There is nothing the matter with this one! I just changed already, and I haven't got time to keep putting on one outfit after another because you don't have a clue that this is what everyone is wearing these days!"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes, "I really don't care what everyone else is doing. Go change, or you are not going. It's that simple."

Abby stood glaring, tapping her foot a few beats before she turned with as bad a display of attitude as she felt safe to display, and stomped back up the stairs. Turning at the landing, she flashed Tony a smile and he mimicked applauding her act.


	3. Tony

Tony

Linda arched her eyebrows. "What an unpleasant young lady."

Jethro seemed a bit taken aback at the assessment. "Abby doesn't usually act like that. Truthfully, I don't know what has gotten into her this afternoon. Let's not focus our attention on her, though. Can I get you a glass of wine or something to drink?"

"You remembered," she smiled, batting her eyes at him. It was obvious that she was attracted to him, and she moved so that she was perched on the edge of her sofa cushion. She stretched out her long legs and placed one hand deliberately on his arm. "I can wait, though, until we're alone. In fact, I'm looking forward to it." She smiled with generous lips over straight white teeth.

"Let me go take a quick shower and we can go to the restaurant, do whatever else we want to do, then come back and conclude the evening right here. Abby and Tony will both be gone and we'll have the house to ourselves. Does that sound like a plan?"

"That sounds good- better than good, Jethro. I have been looking forward to getting together since we met at the crime conference. Obviously, it was meant for NCIS and the CIA to come together." She smiled seductively at him and licked her lips. "As you know, we at the CIA often rely upon our own creativity."

Jethro laughed, then leaned over to finger the hair framing her left temple.

She reached up and rubbed his cheek. "Why are they here anyway? Aren't they part of your NCIS team?"

"That they are, my dear, but they also stay here pretty much full time. It's a long story, though, and sharing it will do nothing to enhance our evening."

"Oh, well, let's don't waste any time talking about them."

Jethro stood up and leaned down to kiss her. Several loud, deep coughs interrupted from the living room doorway. His head snapped up to see Tony in obvious distress, one hand holding himself steady against the doorway. When the coughing finally stopped, Tony appeared exhausted and appealed to Gibbs.

"Boss, where did you put the acetaminophen?"

Gibbs was instantly concerned and alert. Tony's health was a matter of importance for the entire team. "What's the matter? How long has that coughing been like that?"

Tony held out a hand reassuringly. "It's nothing, nothing-" Once again he launched into a long coughing spell. Linda rolled her eyes at Gibbs, but he frowned at her before addressing Tony again.

"Is your chest congested? Does it hurt?"

"Uhmm, no, no sir, I don't believe so. Where are some aspirin I can take, though? Are they in your medicine cabinet? My body is aching."

"What do you need aspirin for? What's aching? What's hurting?" Jethro crossed the room and grasped Tony's shoulder to keep him still, and put up a hand to feel his forehead. "I don't think you have a fever, but the cough sounds rough."

Tony tried to squirm away, but Jethro pulled him back and narrowed his eyes. Tony smiled weakly in Linda's direction. She returned the look with a suspicious glare.

"I just need a couple of aspirins, then I can go on out. Boss, I really need to get moving now. I don't plan to be late to this party!"

"Wait a minute, where is it you are planning to go, Tony?"

"The cook out- remember I told you about that? A bunch of us are going to Rock Creek Park and spending the evening in the great outdoors. I'm communing with the lovely Lisa Marriott- I mean with some buddies- and with nature, of course."

Gibbs shook his head emphatically. "I don't think so, Tony. This is not going to be a communing with nature night for you."

Linda rolled her eyes, and actually clenched her jaw in irritation.

Tony drew back in horror. "Boss, what are you talking about?"

"You are not going to spend an evening outdoors in cool weather when you are already coughing like that. It's not going to happen."

Abby chose that moment to make her next entrance. This time she had on black pants teamed with a gauzy see through top which revealed a black bikini top underneath. Focusing on Tony immediately, she appeared upset and squealed. "Ooh, Tony, is your fever back? I told you to get the aspirin!"

Gibbs snapped around to look from Tony to Abby. He knew nothing about a fever.

Trying to get Jethro's focus back onto her, Linda chose that moment to get to her feet. "Really, Jethro, we need to get going. I'm sure that…."

She was interrupted by his commanding tone, "Let me take care of this first, Linda. This is important to me."

Obviously, this was not the reply she expected. A look of anger flashed across her face, but she covered quickly and spoke again. "I just meant that we have made our own evening plans." With that she turned an annoyed and appraising gaze in the direction of Tony and Abby.

"What fever do you mean, Abby?" questioned Gibbs.

Tony started sliding out of the room and grabbed Abby as he passed. "She's mistaken, Boss. Aren't you, Baby Girl?"

Abby turned towards Gibbs and smiled brightly. "Yeah, I am. I was mixed up. Sorry-"

They managed to take an additional couple of steps before Gibbs whistled loudly. They froze, mid step, and Linda threw her head back, clearly annoyed.

"Stop right there, both of you. Don't move until I give you permission to do so," Gibbs ordered.

Tony and Abby turned to face him and plastered puzzled expressions on their faces.

Linda glared at both of them and Jethro spoke with a level tone.

"Abby, I just cancelled your plans for the evening. You're not going anywhere tonight. When I tell you to do something, then that is what I want you to do, and I don't anticipate it should take three attempts. As for you, Tony, you are staying home, as well. You know better than to plan a get together outside when your lungs are congested and you are coughing like that. You will not leave this house until you are in no danger of an infection, and Ducky has cleared you."

This brought forth an onslaught of protests from both of them, and Gibbs held up his hand, ordering sternly, "Both of you get quiet right now."

They obeyed, but remained scowling in his direction. Linda reached for her pocketbook, gave them a mutinous look, and addressed Jethro. "Really, I can see that you are too bogged down with these two to make room for anyone else in your life. This has been a complete waste of my time, and I regret that I made a mistake about you. Don't contact me again, Jethro. I'll see myself out!"

Gibbs didn't respond, but just watched as she flounced to the front door, snatched it open, and stormed down the walk.


	4. Was It Worth It?

Was It Worth It?

There was silence for a couple of seconds as the three absorbed her departure, then Abby started giggling. Tony bit his lip to keep his laughter from erupting, and Jethro turned to eye them suspiciously.

"What is so funny about what just transpired?" His eyes narrowed, and both of them looked reassuringly at each other.

"Nothing, Boss," Tony offered, "except that she definitely wasn't the one for you. You can be thankful that we were here for you."

"Yeah, Gibbs," Abby added, "she was really mean to us before you got home. We were trying to be nice to her, but she was just nasty."

"Right, good riddance, if you ask me-" Tony assured him.

"I didn't," Gibbs responded, then he jerked his head up suddenly and pointed at both of them. "The two of you staged all of this to get rid of her didn't you?"

"Us?" Abby tried to look horrified, realizing that Gibbs didn't appear all that pleased.

"Yes, you- now I am beginning to get the picture. Both of you sit down on that sofa and don't move your behinds until I tell you that you may."

Tony and Abby exchanged worried glances but scrambled to obey. When they were seated he focused on both of them and ordered sternly, "Do not lie to me."

They nodded, and Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose.

"This was a set up? You masterminded it?"

They nodded again, affirmatively, but Tony began squirming.

"Tell me why."

"Why what, Gibbs?" Abby began to pick nervously at a piece of lint on the sofa cushion.

"Why did you two run her off? Did it occur to you that I might have actually liked the woman and wanted to have a meal with her? I do like to relax once in a while, and I'm pretty sure that you realize that."

That transformed their victorious reactions and both adopted tragic expressions. They regarded each other guiltily, and Tony ventured, "You're disappointed, I guess, Boss. We just…."

Abby interrupted, "We just wanted you to not go with her. It's not that we didn't want you to have some down time, but she was really rude to us, and…."

Tony finished, "and so unfriendly that we just knew she wasn't going to be your soul mate. Not that one, Boss, she's not the one for you."

Jethro shook his head slowly. He was at a loss how to proceed. Several seconds followed, then Abby brightened, "So Gibbs, see, we saved you from future upset. You should be proud of us. We were thinking outside the box today."

Another several seconds of silence followed while he didn't respond. Abby moved closer to Tony for moral support. Finally Jethro commanded softly, "Ok, you two, pay attention to me."

They did, guiltily, and he continued. "I understand that you care about me and also that you thought you were protecting me, and I appreciate that genuine concern. Additionally, I am proud that you worked with each other as a team to tackle something you assessed as a threat. However, what you did was manipulative, you were dishonest, and you overstepped your bounds. I am perfectly capable of deciding with whom I want to share an evening. Do you see that?"

Both of them shook their heads and managed to look contrite. Listening to the events with his perspective, they had a twinge of conscience.

Tony spoke in a low voice, "Right, Boss, we were wrong. We knew you'd never leave the house if you thought Abby was heading out in questionable clothing, or that I would be out running around while I was sick. We, uh, we sabotaged the date for you."

Gibbs leaned back in his seat and put his hands behind his head. "I got that part."

"Sorry, Gibbs," Abby offered, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

He sat forward. "Ok, well, here's the deal. You two are staying home tonight, all night. You won't be going out anywhere."

Immediate protests began.

"Really, I'm not actually sick, Boss! We made up the whole coughing and fever thing. Didn't my great acting impress you?"

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, I know I can't go out of the house in any of those outfits- I have the real one I'm going to wear already picked out and ready to go. It was just a ploy, wearing the wrong things."

When he failed to answer their voices trailed nervously, and they looked at him uncertainly.

"So," Abby added with false cheer, "we will just be out of your way in a few minutes."

Gibbs responded sternly. "Is that what I said?"

"Uhm, no, Boss, but then I guess we aren't too clear on your communication," clarified Tony.

"Let me spell it out, then, so that my communication is clear. You are both staying right here at home tonight for the duration. This is my response to your meddling in my business- your rescheduling my own plans for me."

"Gibbs!" Abby fussed with a tragic expression, a tear sliding down her cheek. "We said we were sorry!"

He stood up and kissed her on the forehead.

"Abby, if I have to repeat myself, the restriction will include tomorrow night as well."

Tony regarded Gibbs with a expression of resignation. Turning to Abby he ordered, "Drop it, Baby Girl, you know we've earned this. Don't keep arguing, because I have a date with Daphne tomorrow night."

Gibbs was impressed with Tony's mature outlook on the punishment. "That's very wise, Anthony." He stretched and started out of the room. "Why don't you spend the next few minutes deciding whether sabotaging my date was worth spending Friday night at home?"

Tony and Abby both broke into smiles, and Tony replied without hesitation, "No need to question our clandestine strategy too deeply, Boss…"

"It was absolutely worth it!" Abby concluded with a smirk.


End file.
